To kick off the new year I thought I’d post internet videos that were influential to me (and others) last year. Not all these videos were published in 2011 but that’s when I first watched them. Here they are.

Early last year Republicans proposed legislation that would eliminate abortion funding for rape victims. Jon Stewart made them look pretty foolish on The Daily Show. Wordpress won’t let me embed this video, so click the link below to watch it. You’ll be redirected to The Daily Show website.

ABC has a showed called What Would You Do? This is the first episode I saw which depicts a lesbian couple with their daughter being confronted by their waiter.

Here’s a video by Linda Stay. She relates how she learned her son Tyler is gay and what that experience was like from a Mormon perspective. She goes into more depth on these experiences in the documentary 8: The Mormon Proposition.

Emily Pearson also appeared in 8: The Mormon Proposition. In this video she relates experiences with gay men she was close to and her journey out of the LDS Church.

And of course, no blog authored by a gay man would be complete without a tribute to Lady GaGa. Here are my top videos by the Lord herself. To start, here’s a video by Jonah Mowry that captured Her (capital H-E-R) attention.

Lady GaGa responded to teen suicide possibly more than any other celebrity. She brought these suicides to the attention of officials in the White House. Although she is written off too frequently because of her eccentricity, she’s doing some pretty cool things for LGBTQ youth. Here’s her tribute to Jamey Rodemeyer who committed suicide in 2011.

Here’s a story by ABC about GaGa’s efforts to stop bullying.

Finally, here’s a parody of Lady GaGa’s Edge of Glory reminds me of our commitment ceremony. This was created around the time New York passed gay marriage.

50% of elementary and middle school bullying incidents are based on gender or orientation slurs

80% of high school youth harassed as gay identify as heterosexual

These youth are 5 times more likely to attempt suicide than their non-harassed peers

Among those who identify as transgender, 60% are attacked in violent assaults

Gay slurs have been part of all school shootings

I haven’t cared any more or any less than typical concerned citizens. I make sure I don’t take part in hate speech, and I make sure to comment when gay is used as a derogatory term. I was a typical concerned citizen until I attended a USU basketball game. USU basketball fans are known for being loud, energetic, and passionate. It’s an awesome experience.

But there’s another side to the coin. USU fans can also say things that leave students, spectators, and potential future USU students feeling uncomfortable, especially LGBTQ students. As an example, a group of guys sitting a few rows behind Dan and me shouted gay slurs every chance they got. Don’t agree with the call a ref made? Shout “you’re a faggot!” A member of the opposing travels? Shout “you’re a queer!”

Moreover, we were sitting next to the student section in the section USU reserves for recruits, visitors, scholars, and future (potential) students. What image are USU fans giving off to these people? That USU is potentially not a safe place for LGBTQ persons. This gives off the impression to people outside of Utah that this behavior is acceptable to Utahns. This needs to change.

Tell USU administrators they need to be more concerned about their public image.

These epithets weren’t directed at me or Dan per se, but they caused us to squirm in our seats. The exhilaration of the cheering became less exhilarating. You worry for your safety. What if they notice our wedding bands? Will we become the subject of their taunts? What happens when we leave the Spectrum — will we be safe? Or will we be another hate-crime statistic in Utah?

The only recourse we have is to remain silent and tune out the epithets. Moreover, hate speech laws in Utah don’t include sexual orientation. We could address it with school officials, but what more can they say other than “I’m sorry you experienced this” or “That’s upsetting, and I don’t agree with them.”

Questions I pose to readers are:

How common are gay slurs at USU basketball games (or other sporting events)?